


before this gets out of hand

by BlackBlood1872



Series: Paper Thin [3]
Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Exhibitionism, Guilt, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Misunderstandings, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Sexual Fantasy, Unresolved Sexual Tension, half of the cheating problem is solved in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:29:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackBlood1872/pseuds/BlackBlood1872
Summary: Sammy got good at keeping quiet in college, when having a roommate who rarely went out made it hard to find time to himself. He trained himself to be quiet, to bite his lips or muffle himself under pillows and blankets, to keep his rasping breaths as light as possible.But, then as now, Sammy can only go so long without letting loose. He needs time to himself where he can let go without worrying about someone overhearing him.Thankfully, he gets his chance barely a week after thisthingwith Ben starts.[A companion to "slow down (take a moment to breathe)". This is what Sammy was doing while Ben was out of the house.]
Relationships: Ben Arnold/Sammy Stevens
Series: Paper Thin [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1438756
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	before this gets out of hand

Sammy got good at keeping quiet in college, when having a roommate who rarely went out made it hard to find time to himself. There were plenty of weekends and breaks that Evan went back home for, but it wasn't nearly as often as Sammy would have liked. So he trained himself to be quiet, to bite his lips or muffle himself under pillows and blankets, to keep his rasping breaths as light as possible.

Evan never mentioned it, so he thinks he did okay.

That skill helps him now, in this apartment where sound carries and his roommate's activities see fit to drive him insane. That first night was an outlier, a night without filter, and while Ben never said anything, Sammy knows he heard. The knowledge thrills him, but there's still a part of him that hates what he's doing—that hates how this game could be seen as a betrayal.

Ben's still adamant about finding a way to free Jack from the Void, after all. That kind of puts a damper on their nightly activities.

But… not enough that Sammy's going to stop. Stop listening, stop touching himself to the sounds of Ben's pleasure, one hand clamped over his mouth to stop his own moans and the other wrapped around his cock, imagining all the ways Ben could take him apart. It won't stop him from fantasizing about getting his hands on his friend's skin, drawing those noises from him because of what _Sammy's_ doing. Because of how Sammy's touching him, winding him up and up until his voice is pitched and cracking, until all he can say is Sammy's name.

Sammy thinks about kissing him, swallowing those cries as Ben falls apart under his hands.

It's getting harder than ever to look Ben in the eye during the day.

Similar to his time in college, though, Sammy can only go so long without letting loose. Muffling himself requires concentration that keeps him from fully immersing himself in the act. It works and he still gets off, but it's not _enough_. He needs time to himself where he can let go without worrying about someone overhearing him.

(Needs to get this out of his system before he stops _caring_ about Ben listening to him. Before he throws cation to the wind and lets Ben hear him as well as Sammy's been hearing him, imagining Ben reacting like Sammy has been, so turned on by the sounds of pleasure in the other room, close but not close _enough_.)

( _Fuck_.)

(If he thinks about it for too long, he starts to forgot the reason for avoiding the inevitable. Something about guilt and something about cheating, but it isn't actually either of those if the two of them don't touch each other. If Sammy only seeks release on his own. And if he happens to fantasize about Ben while he does so—no one will know except him. It won't hurt anyone.

It's just a game.)

* * *

On the days when Ben isn't pestering him to be productive, Sammy camps out on the couch. Usually he watches TV, sometimes he reads a book. He has the TV on today, but isn't really paying attention. He started out watching some travel show but must have zoned out for a while because he doesn't recognize anything playing right now. Something about ruins? Abandoned places? It's calming, at least.

That's when Ben pops in to tell him that he's heading out for his date with Emily and— _fuck_ , Sammy still can't wrap his head around a Ben who's doing _this_ and still dating someone else.

Better to just avoid thinking about it. Sammy's getting better at that.

He waits until the show he's watching ends, just to be _sure_ Ben's gone, but nerves and anticipation spark under his skin and he's already half hard by time he stands and escapes to the bathroom. Ben's not here to listen, this time, but that does nothing to lessen the thrill. This is still Ben's apartment, Ben's shower, and no matter how long Sammy's been here, he can't stop thinking of it like that. Maybe he will someday. He's not sure if he wants to, not if the thought of doing something so lewd in someone else's home gets his blood flowing like this.

His face is flushed when he catches sight of himself in the mirror. He grins back at himself, a little shakily, and feels a giggle bubble up, adrenaline trying to find a release. This is ridiculous. This is _obscene_.

That's not going to get him to _stop_.

Fire trails after every brush of skin on skin as he strips and by time he's stumbling into the shower, he feels overwhelmed and overstimulated, achingly hard and panting. It's kind of pathetic. He hasn't had proper sex in way too long if this _little_ is getting him so worked up.

( _I'll have to fix that_ , he thinks, and the thought sends another shiver through him.)

The first shock of cold water cools the heat building under his skin enough to draw him back from the edge. He breathes out shakily, leaning into the spray, letting himself relax as the water warms to something bearable.

With Ben out of the house, Sammy can take his time. He can be as loud as he dares without worrying about who might be listening. He braces himself against the shower wall, forearm and forehead pressed against the tile, and runs his hand down his chest, stomach, thighs. It's a tease and his body reacts how he knew it would, trembling with every missed touch, every slight brush of hair against hardening flesh.

He reacts to every light touch like it's the first, like it's something new and exciting, _forbidden_ , all the better for that thrill of deviance. His fingers trail heat along their path and he shivers, loving the sensation and the water that trickles down his shaft with the softest of pressure. Anticipation and desire swirls under his skin, heats his blood to a boil, chases all lingering doubt from his mind. Why can't he have this? It feels so good, would feel _so much better_ if the touch wasn't his own, if he could learn the feel of Ben's skin against his own…

Sammy exhales slowly and runs fingertips up his cock, shivering under the warm water as he _finally_ closes his hand around himself, stroking with a steady dedication that has his legs shaking. He's had years to learn himself, to figure out all the ways to bring himself to the edge, all the spots to touch and stroke and squeeze, everything he likes. But now, he closes his eyes and imagines if it were Ben holding him, playing with him, exploring him to find every sensitive spot that makes him moan and writhe, and Sammy pants with the spark of lightning that jolts through him. He drags his nails up his length, a trail of pleasure-pain that drags a moan from deep within his chest.

He imagines Ben coming home early, finding Sammy like this, falling apart at the thought of him. Thinks about him entering the bathroom quietly, striping and pressing himself against the line of Sammy's back. Imagines Ben wrapping his arms around him and folding his fingers over Sammy's own, strange skin against the heat of his erection. Feels the warmth of Ben's breath on his ear, arousal deepened voice whispering “let me help”. The feel of his teeth biting the lobe, gentle, scraping the skin as he pulls. A single flick of his tongue.

Sammy gasps, tightening his grip as his cock pulses at the fantasy. His arm shakes and the next few strokes are clumsy, inelegant, but that's just what he needs to send him tumbling over the edge.

He watches the water swirl around the drain, head pleasantly empty, nerves tingling. He stands there for a minute longer, muscles relaxing under the still warm spray. He runs his hand up his stomach, back down again to tease at the hair above his dick. He's not trying for anything now, just enjoying human warmth and pressure on his skin. He wishes it were Ben's hands on him, helping him come down from the high of orgasm, murmuring sweet nothings against his neck. He can imagine himself turning around, drawing Ben into a long kiss, open mouthed and lazy. Running his own hands over his friends body, returning the favor.

Sammy ducks his head under the spray, pushing such thoughts out of his head. It's fine like this, nothing more than sounds and fantasies. He doesn't want to risk losing everything by chasing anything else.

He spends another few seconds under the spray, then turns off the shower.

Sammy dries off and dresses again, feeling settled in his skin for the first time in days. The shower itself helped a lot with that, the orgasm even more so. He ends up on the couch again with a book he found on Ben's shelves, something interesting that he's been meaning to read. He didn't have the attention span for it, before.

Ben gets home an hour or so later. Sammy's about a third of the way into the book and it _is_ interesting, but he still pulls away from it to welcome his roommate back. "Hey. How was your date?" It doesn't hurt to think about it as much as it did earlier, and Sammy's thankful.

But… Ben stares at him like he's speaking nonsense. "Date?" he repeats blankly. Understanding blooms a couple seconds later. "Oh! You mean with Emily. It wasn't a date."

_What?_

Sammy stares at him, all thoughts of books and unrequited feelings chased from his mind. "I thought…" he manages, feeling miles away. "Didn't you two get together a couple weeks ago?"

Ben squints in confusion before smacking his forehead. "Right! I never said—we broke up," Ben says simply, as if he hasn't just torn apart Sammy's preconceptions. "Turns out we don't work like that. It's all good though, we're still friends, nothing's—nothing's changed, we're still as close as ever."

Sammy has a feeling that Ben's rambling because he's nervous, faced with Sammy's blank, overwhelmed stare. He's too deep into it to properly notice. "Oh," he manages to say, many seconds too late. "That's, uh, that's good." Is it? He's glad Ben hasn't lost one of his friends, and he thinks he should be sad that Ben's lost a significant other, but all he feels is relieved. Ben's single. He's… available.

There's one less thing stopping Sammy from asking him out.

"Okay, well," Ben says slowly. He gestures towards the hall, "I'm gonna… go."

Sammy jerks his head, nodding absently. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

Ben escapes to his room, shooting Sammy a concerned look before disappearing from view. Sammy drops his gaze to his hands, the book he's still holding. He can't remember what it's about.

Ben's… single. That's. Well.

That changes things. If Ben's single, then Sammy doesn't have to worry about fucking up his relationship. It means… he doesn't have to hold back anymore.

The prospect sends a delighted shiver through his body. He doesn't need to pretend not to hear anything. He doesn't need to put so much effort into keeping quiet. He doesn't even need to keep this contained to their rooms at night, if he doesn't want to.

The smile on his lips is wicked, and he makes no move to restrain it. Oh, this is going to be _fun_.


End file.
